Igbo community in Abuja cautions Southeast leaders against blanket endorsement of Tinubu

By Ifeizu Joe

An Igbo community group in Abuja has cautioned some South East leaders against hasty and blanket endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for next year’s presidential election.

The socio-cultural organization representing Igbo residents across Abuja, under the aegis of Igbo Community Association in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in a press release by its President General, Mr Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe stated that the claims that South East voters were fully behind Tinubu were false.

The group singled out Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma; Minister of Works, Engr David Umahi, and Senate Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi as those making the claims, insisting that none of them is a spokesperson for the Igbo.

Ezenekwe said: “The assertion that President Tinubu will sweep all five South-East states in 2027 is completely detached from the prevailing conditions on the ground.

“The Igbo Community Association FCT wishes to set the record straight for the public and the political establishment that neither Governor Hope Uzodimma, Minister David Umahi, nor Senator Onyekachi Nwebonyi serves as the spokesperson for the Igbo ethnic group.

“Uzodinma and Umahi are not presently the spokespersons of Igbos, neither is Senator Nwaebonyi a spokesperson. These three are merely being sent out to talk for Tinubu against the interest of Igbos. The South-East considers the Tinubu administration as a failed administration and for this reason will not vote Tinubu.

“Elected political appointees and ruling-party actors do not hold a mandate to declare a political consensus on behalf of millions of Igbo citizens. These endorsements represent the personal political preservation strategies of a few office holders seeking to retain favor with the presidency. They do not reflect the true political stance, socio-economic realities, or grassroots sentiment of the South-East region.”

The group urged public officials from the South-East to focus on their constitutional duties, governance, and the immediate economic needs of their constituents, rather than attempting to trade away the political sovereignty of the Igbo electorate for personal leverage.

They insisted that the grassroots population across the South-East consider the current federal administration to have failed on key economic and administrative metrics and would not vote for those at the helm of the administration.